The Turkish Competition Authority has concluded a major investigation into the small home appliances sector, imposing a substantial administrative fine on Media Markt Turkey Tic. Ltd. Şti. for its role in a competition law violation involving indirect information exchange.
The case centered on whether leading electronics retailers—Teknosa İç ve Dış Tic. AŞ, Vatan Bilgisayar San. ve Tic. AŞ, and MediaMarkt—coordinated their market behavior through a common supplier, Fakir Elektrikli Ev Aletleri Dış Ticaret AŞ. The authority examined whether this indirect channel was used to exchange commercially sensitive information, potentially reducing competition between the retailers.
Following its investigation, the Competition Board found that MediaMarkt had participated in conduct amounting to a hub-and-spoke cartel or, alternatively, a concerted practice. In competition law, such arrangements typically involve competitors coordinating through a third party—the “hub”—to align pricing or strategic decisions without direct communication. This type of structure is increasingly scrutinized by authorities because it can produce the same anti-competitive effects as a traditional cartel while being harder to detect.
As a result, the authority imposed a fine of approximately 330 million Turkish lira, equivalent to around 9.4 million euros. The decision was based on a violation of Article 4 of Law No. 4054 on the Protection of Competition, which prohibits agreements and practices that restrict competition.
For businesses, the decision serves as a clear warning that competition compliance must extend beyond direct interactions with rivals. Communications with suppliers and other partners can also raise serious antitrust risks if they facilitate coordination in the market.
